Dating for Dummies
by Ana Hazel
Summary: If Luke wants the girl of his dreams, he needs to go get her! / pseudo-holiday fic
1. Part I

**Title:** Dating for Dummies  
**Author:** Hazel  
**Timeframe:** circa 13 ABY  
**Characters:** Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade, Solos and probably more.

**Genre:** Romance, pseudo-holiday fic

**Summary:** If Luke wants the girl of his dreams, he needs to go get her!

**Disclamer:** Star Wars belongs to Lucas Film and Lucas Film belongs to Disney which means that Leia is now a Disney Princess.

* * *

**Dating for Dummies**

* * *

~ Part I ~

.

Luke should have known better than to have come to Coruscant for Fete Week. He simply wasn't in the mood for a major celebration and he could tell, even though his sister denied it, that he was ruining it for everybody. He wasn't up to playing with the kids, he wasn't up to chatting with Han or Leia and he wasn't up to partying with his friends. And the worse part was that every time his spirits managed to lift a bit, something always brought them back down again.

The past year had been hard on him. Even though the Jedi Academy was now running smoothly, the rest of his life's dreams had crumbled when Callista had left him. He had put so much faith in that relationship that he failed to see what everyone else saw - it wasn't meant to be. It had taken him months to admit to himself that it was the dream of a future he had fallen for, not the woman herself. He had made peace with that part of his life now, but the loneliness crept in anyway.

"Hey, kid!" His brother-in-law called out, breaking the Jedi's line of thought. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing." Luke said, trying to smile. "I'm good."

"Yeah, sure! And my kids are little angels." Han replied, making sure to add the appropriate amount of sarcasm.

On queue, all three Solo kids came bursting down the stairs, shouting their little lungs out. After them was Chewbacca, roaring like crazy. The reason for this outburst was evident on the Wookiee's fur which was covered with some kind of sticky paste and a few Fete Week decorations. The sight brought the day's first genuine smile out of Luke.

"Hang on a minute." Han said to Luke while he got up to manage the mess. When the former smuggler got back, Luke was staring at the holo screen, his mood now greyer than before. There, a gossip columnist was recounting every detail of the season's main event - the Master Trader's Ball that had taken place the previous eve. Han and Leia had attended, but Luke had refused to go, claiming a major headache. At that moment, the columnist was describing and comparing the outfits of the most notorious guests. Behind him, a series of holos himself with Leia, others showed General Ackbar, Mon Mothma, several other members of the New Republic's government, many of the galaxy's most accomplished traders and entrepreneurs and, near the left side corner, the two figures that had caught Luke's full attention - their old-time friend Lando Calrissian and the former imperial agent and now valid ally, Mara Jade.

That was when it all began to make sense to Han.

"Boy, sometimes I think Lando is color-blind." Han joked, referring to his old friend's garish looking clothes.

Luke didn't even nod and Han kept at it. "But Mara looked stunning."

"You didn't say they were there." Luke said in a low tone.

"Everybody was there, Luke. You were the only one who didn't go."

When Luke just shrugged, Han thought that it was time to cut to the chase. "Is that your problem, kid? Lando and Mara?"

Luke merely sat back on the couch and refused to look at his brother-in-law. Han, of course, didn't give up.

"You have feelings for Mara, don't you?"

Now, Luke looked up, but didn't reply. Instead his eyes were almost pleading Han to stop. Naturally, he didn't stop. "You do! Why don't you do something about it?"

"She's with Lando!" Luke claimed, sounding revolted about going after his friend's girl.

Han had to laugh.

"Seriously, kid! You bought that. You have the Force and you bought that?"

Han's jest only made Luke get more upset. "What's so funny, Han?"

"Oh, you are still the naïve farm boy, aren't ya kid?" The former smuggler stated after he controlled his fit of laughter.

It was plainly clear that Luke was loosing his patience, so Han thought it best to enlighten the kid. "It's a scheme, Luke. They're just posing as a couple so they can uncover some things for Karrde."

"What?" That sounded strange to Luke. He knew Mara's employer would go to great length to get to the bottom of something, but to make his second-in-command pose as arm-candy to Calrissian was just overdoing it. "How do you know that?"

"Lando told me a few weeks ago. We got drunk over a game of sabacc and he spilled the beans. He wouldn't tell me what they're investigating though."

"Seriously?"

"Yup! You're the dummy here, kid." Han added, giving Luke his usual lopsided grin and making the former farm boy feel even more like a dummy.

Luke couldn't believe his ears. Since he had met Mara years before, he had been struggling with his feelings for her. It seemed like the galaxy conspired to keep them apart as much as through them together. Even though they saw each other often enough, there was always some kind of obstacle (Callista being one of the biggest, funny he should think of Callista as an obstacle now), some set of circumstances that got in the way and even when there wasn't, Luke's own natural awkwardness around the fiery redhead filled in just fine.

But what would he do now?

"You could ask her out," Han answered the unspoken question.

Luke shook his head and stated. "It's more complicated than that."

"No, it's not. She's a girl, you're a guy. You have to go get her." And before Luke could counter, Han added: "So what if you're risking bodily harm by courting a former imperial assassin."

An uncertain sigh escaped Luke's heart.

"You're gonna loose her, Luke. If you don't do something soon, some other guy will snatch her up and take her away from you for good. This thing with Lando was a ruse, but odds are the next one won't be. Mara is far too hot to remain single for much longer."

"I don't know, Han."

"Look, kid, this is Fete Week. It's the time of year when everybody is making wishes. All you have to do is go out there and make your wish come true. Now go!"

With that, Han grabbed Luke by the arm and practically threw him out the door. When he closed the door again, his wife was questioning him with her eyes.

"The kid went out to get himself a Fete Week present," he explained, and putting his arm around her waist he started leading her back inside. "Now why don't we put the kids in bed and start rehearsing our own private celebration."

TBC...


	2. Part II

~ Part II ~

.

Mara Jade was lying on a large couch in the middle of the living room, her hands folded over her stomach and her eyes pinned on the ceiling. It was one of those days, the ones when she didn't feel like talking to anyone; she just wanted to lay there, in complete and utter silence.

Of course that was not gonna happen.

"Come on Red, let's go out." Lando Calrissian challenged her from the other side of the room.

Mara rolled her eyes and, for the billionth time since the beginning of the month, cursed her employer for setting her up with Lando. "Let's not, and don't call me Red!"

"We should be seen together. Keep up appearances," the dark-skinned man pointed out.

"We were seen enough last night, Lando. It will last us for a good six months."

"Aww, come on princess..."

That was enough for Mara. "Call me princess again and you'll NEVER step outside again, because you'll be dead."

"Okay, okay, fine!" Lando raised his hands in surrender. "Geesh! Watch that temper, I was just kidding."

Mara didn't apologize and Lando didn't expect her to. The past couple of years, and during their incursions in search of Karrde's former mentor, he had come to know Mara Jade pretty well and he respected her a great deal. To say the truth, Lando genuinely cared for the fiery red-head and he knew that she cared for him too, just not in a romantic way. Lando had long ago desisted on trying to woo the former imperial, but he still liked to tease her and he enjoyed their cat-and-mouse game way too much to give it up. Besides, he knew that Mara also found the game amusing - most days - and would go to any lengths to show her a good time.

The lady needed to be shown a good time - it was as simple as that. That was why Lando insisted on accompanying Mara on this mission, even on the days she didn't want him around. And apparently this was one of those days.

"What's the matter, Mara?" He asked calmly after taking a seat on a nearby chair.

"Nothing," she replied in a halfhearted tone. Just when Lando thought she wouldn't elaborate, she did. "Just tired, I guess."

"Maybe you need a vacation, I know this great place we could go on Chandrilla. What do you say?"

"No, thanks. Don't get me wrong, Lando, but I'm sick and tired of the sight of you."

By this time, Lando was far too used to Mara's rants to take it personally. She always snapped at him when she was moody. As a matter of fact, she _always_ snapped at everybody when she was feeling moody.

Of course, her favorite target was Skywalker, but he wasn't around. Come to think of it, Mara's mood had taken a turn for the worse the previous night when she realized that Luke would not be showing up.

_Interesting!_

"Okay, _so_," he baited, "maybe it would be a good change of scenery for you if you were to go to the Jedi Academy for a while. I'm sure Karr-"

Mara didn't let him finish. She sat up on the couch and, waiving her arms around, ranted on. "You're crazy, Calrissian! What would I possibly do in Skywalker's Academy?"

"Train to be a Jedi?" He suggested, innocently.

"You're definitely crazy!" She shook her head and threw her hands in the air and then fell on the couch again. "Shut up, Calrissian! Just shut up."

_Touchy._ _And definitely very interesting._

But, nevertheless, Lando thought it better to be quiet for a while. If he knew his friend, she would not remain so for very long.

He was right and after a couple of minutes of silence Mara asked: "So, why do you think Skywalker didn't show up yesterday? Do you think he went off on some other wild adventure?"

Was that a note of worry in Mara's tone?

"No," Lando replied. "Han said that he was just feeling under the weather. He's actually on planet for Fete Week."

"That's good," she whispered almost inaudibly.

After a few more minutes of silence, Lando decided to take the chance and lay the game out in the open.

"You have feelings for him, don't you?" He asked carefully. To his surprise, Mara didn't jump up to swat him. As a matter of fact, she did nothing and said nothing at all. She just laid there holding her own hands tightly over her chest and Lando had the distinct impression that she was fighting off her feelings.

Suddenly, everything was clear. How many times had Mara gone after Skywalker when he got in trouble? How many rants did Lando put up with when Luke had shacked up with Callista? Mara had even so much as told him once that the main reason she had left the Jedi Academy in the first place was that Luke hardly paid any notice to her when she _was_ there.

Lando always thought of himself as a great reader of other beings - how could he have missed all the signs?

Before he could take any action or say anything, Mara had gone up and out the door.

TBC...


	3. Part III

~ Part III ~

.

When he left the Solos' apartment, Luke felt the confidence of an energized hero. Unfortunately, all that power quickly faded in the face of his uncertainty towards Mara's feelings and his own insecurities. How the hell was he going to approach Mara and state his intentions? What if she used the lightsaber he had given her, on him? What if she told him to get lost? Why did he find the second hypotheses so much more painful than the first?

Looking back, he had never had much success in wooing women. His clumsy attempts to get a girl's attention back on Tatooine were better not to be remembered. In his adult years he only remembered ever actively wooing Leia, and she had turned out to be his sister - better forget that too. As for the other women in his life, Shira had chased him and had turned out to be a traitor anyway; Gaeriel had not lingered enough in his life to be called a relationship, he had left as soon as her world was safe; Jem, he had found tied to a tree and needing rescue, and Callista had been trapped in a computer. Luke had to conclude that his idea of wooing women was to rescue them from whatever danger they were in.

If only Mara Jade needed rescuing... Luke almost laughed at that thought. In Mara's case, she did the rescuing and he was the rescued one. Maybe that was why it wasn't working out.

'Hmm, maybe if I set it up so that I would rescue her...' Luke mused and then kicked himself for it. He would never do something like that to anyone. It was way to idiotic. There had to be another way.

What did his friends usually do? Oh yes, they bought their lady flowers and/or treats of her liking, they complimented her at every turn, they invited her to go somewhere expensive... Somehow, Luke didn't see any of those choices working with Mara.

He was hopeless. Han was right, he just a lovesick dummy.

.

~ . * . ~

.

After Mara left, it took Lando a whole of nine seconds to figure out his next move. He made his way to his comm station and commed his good buddy Han. When the former smuggler's image showed up on the holo screen, Lando had to force himself not to laugh at his friend's scruffy look. He failed. Han's hair was completely muzzled and it was obvious he had donned his shirt inside-out. In fact, Lando was almost sure his friend wasn't even wearing pants.

"Well, somebody's having a good time." Lando was the first to greet. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"If you had, I wouldn't have answered. Now what do you want?"

"You kids put the kids to bed on time tonight, hah."

"Lando - what do you want?" Han insisted.

"Okay," Lando conceded. "I... How do I put this? I just found out that Mara has the hots for Luke."

Now it was Han's turn to laugh. "You mean that the redhead is in love with the kid? That's... that's interesting. How do you know that? Did she admit it?"

"No, she stormed out the door when I suggested it. Why is it interesting?"

"And that's a sure sign." Han nodded, and then explained, "Luke's in love with her too."

"Really!" Lando snorted.

"Yup! But he didn't think she was interested in him, what with you two dating and all."

"What? Luke fell for that? I would have thought he'd be the first to see through our ruse. I guess Mara and I are better actors than we thought."

"What are you two talking about?" Leia suddenly jumped in the image. She was wearing a fluffy bedroom robe and her hair was loose and it looked like it had just been combed.

Turning to her, Han explained. "Luke is in love with Mara Jade and Mara Jade is in love with Luke. We just figured it out."

"Luke and Mara?" Leia frowned. "I did not see that one coming."

Turning back to Lando and putting his hand between Leia and his mouth as if to block her from what he was about to say, Han commented. "I guess having the Force is useless when it comes to these things."

"I heard that." Leia said dryly, but left it at that. There were more important matters to attend now, like her brother's happiness. "If it's mutual, why don't they just get together?"

"Because, each of them believes the other does not share the feeling." Lando proceeded to explain Mara's behavior and reaction, aided and supported by several comments from Han, who told Luke's side of the story.

"Oh." Leia sighed after hearing the full account. She hated to admit it, but her husband's earlier statement was apparently very accurate. "So, what are we gonna do?"

"Lock 'em in a room together and let them sort it out." Han suggested, smirking.

"Yeah, no! I'd like my brother to come out of this alive and unharmed."

"Get them drunk and hope it loosens their tongue?" Lando put out.

"I don't know," Han waved. "Most times Luke gets drunk, he just starts singing old tunes and he's very off-key."

"And that would probably be counterproductive." Leia commented.

"Oh, I know," Han continued, "Luke should kidnap Mara and make her marry him."

"Yeah! Pull a Han Solo." Lando laughed.

"Hey, it worked on Leia." Han responded, putting his arm around his wife and being swatted and called 'nerf' for it.

After a few more suggestions from the two former scoundrels, Leia, who had been sitting quietly, finally said: "Hmm, I think I have an idea."

.

~ .*. ~

.

After her abrupt departure, Mara wandered the city for well over one hour. Even though her exterior seemed collected, inside she was in turmoil. How had it come to this? How had she managed to get so tangled up in an unrequited love? And how the hell was she gonna get rid of it?

That last thought almost made Mara laugh. If it was possible to get rid of her feelings for the Jedi Master, she would have done it already. It wasn't for a lack of trying.

Maybe she should just put some distance between herself and Luke. With that thought in mind, Mara made for her ship. If it depended on her, it would be a long long time before she saw or even heard of Luke Skywalker.

.

TBC...


	4. Part IV

Special thanks to Jedi_Lover for her help and advice in this part.

* * *

.

~ Part IV ~

.

_"Get your butt over here right now, kid!"_ Han's demand was heard through Luke's comlink just as soon as he answered it. Before Luke could ask why the former scoundrel had already hung up.

Knowing, through the Force, that there was nothing wrong with either Leia or the children only added to the Jedi's puzzlement and his confusion only increased after he arrived at his destination. Standing at the door and looking somewhat menacing was Lando Calrissian.

"So you want to take my girl from me, do you?"

"I..." Luke was taken aback by his friend's query. Had Han been wrong about Lando and Mara? And how had Lando found out about Luke's feelings anyway? Had Han told Lando about them? Too many questions squirmed around the Jedi's mind. "No, I wouldn't..."

"Lando, cut it out!" Leia approached the door, pushing the other man away and taking hold of her brother's arm. "Come in, Luke. Don't mind Lando."

As the Jedi was led in and tried to formulate a proper reassurance, he found he did not need to since the other man was already patting his back and smiling. "Hey man, just kidding."

"What's going on here?" Luke finally asked after he settled on the couch, pretty much on the same spot he had been sitting hours earlier.

"Remember what we talked about earlier, Kid? About you and Mara." Han started and then was interrupted by Leia. "We found out it's mutual."

"What?" Luke asked in disbelief.

"Mara likes you too." Lando said sheepishly.

"Hah?"

"You both like each other." Han said.

"Wait! Are you guys sure? How do you know?"

"You told Han," Leia told him, "and Mara told Lando."

"Well, she didn't tell me," Lando corrected. "I figured it out from her reactions. Every time I mention you to her, she gets prickly. Today she stormed out."

"Really?" Luke asked, letting a glimmer of hope show in his smile.

"Yes," Lando assured him. "Look Luke, I'm sorry about this. But seriously, I always thought you knew Mara and I weren't for real, what with the Force and all and you do hide your feelings well. I mean, I would never have agreed to this if I knew how you felt about her."

"Okay..." Luke replied, still trying to wrap his head around these newly uncovered facts.

"Alright, and now that we sorted that out," Han started, "it's time for you to go after her. It's now or never, Kid! Remember what I told you earlier - you have to go get her and you have to hurry 'cause we know she's skipping' town."

"What?!"

"Yes. We just found out she has filed for an emergency departure clearance." Leia told her brother.

"Yeah, you're gonna have to hurry or you'll miss her." Han stated, getting up and leading Luke back to the apartment's entrance. "So go, Kid! Go get her!"

And for the second time that day, Luke found himself being thrown out of the Solo's apartment. At least this time, he added some additional information. "She's in hangar 8-G, over on the south side."

After they closed the door behind Luke, Lando turned to Han and asked: "Why the big rush? With the order Leia issued it's going to take Mara a whole month to get be cleared for departure."

"It's Fete Week Lando and this is our present to Luke. We'd like it if he got it in time for the big family dinner tomorrow." Leia explained.

"Oh, family dinner... Am I invited?" He asked the princess, giving her his most endearing puppy eyes.

"Sure," she patted his shoulder. "But you have to get your own present."

"Yeah," Han interrupted. "Now go away, Lando. We were in the middle of something."

.

~ . * . ~

.

Luke ran like the wind towards hangar 8-G, all the while wondering what he was going to do when he got there. He still wasn't too clear on how the others were so certain of Mara's feelings for him and he had no idea of what her reaction would be to his sudden appearance. The only thing Luke knew for sure was that he was not going to let her get away again. She had done that to him way too many times.

When he finally arrived at the hangar he took a moment to collect himself before taking his next step. This was probably the most important step of his life and he would not falter.

.

~ . * . ~

.

Mara Jade sat in the cockpit of the _Hunter's Luck_, impatiently waiting for someone to respond to her departure request. She knew these things took their time and she still needed to prep the ship, but she was hoping to at least get an estimation of how long it would take before her clearance codes were issued. As far as she could tell, no one had even acknowledged the request's reception yet.

_'No matter'_, she thought. _'Soon I'll be away from here and from Skywalker.'_

No sooner had his name passed through her head, that his presence made itself be felt in the vicinity.

_'What the kr-'_

"MARA! MARA JADE!" Skywalker's voice resounded through the ship's open hatch.

"Skywalker, what the hell are you doing here?" Mara practically yelled as she reached the entrance. What the hell was the man doing here? And just as she was trying to get away from him. Lando had to have tattled. In the instants before Luke reached her, Mara swore to herself that the next time she saw her partner she would use her lightsaber to turn him into fish bate.

As for Luke, the vision of an angry Mara Jade did not give him pause. This was not the first time he had seen her in such a manner. Before he lost his nerve or even thought about it better, Luke blurted out: "Don't go! You can't leave."

"And why not?" She demanded, placing her closed fists on her sides and throwing the man before her her most menacing look. It did nothing to stop him. Instead, Luke approached her gently, slowly opening his heart as his hands touched her gently in the arms and ran down to catch her own.

"Because I'm asking you. Don't. Go."

The sudden gush of heat Mara felt turned her skin to goose bumps and ran a shiver down her spine. The confusion she felt made her head spin. She didn't understand what was going so and her first reaction was to pull away from the man before her.

Maybe it was the Force warning him or maybe he just knew her far too well, but Luke was there and he would not let go. A little part of his brain, the logical one, warned him that this was a dangerous move that could get him hurt, but at the moment that part was definitely not in charge, and the rest of him practically shouted _'do it, this is it'_ so, with all the confidence of the man who had both taken out the first Death Star _and_ turned Darth Vader back into the light, and the gentleness of the farm boy from Tatooine, Luke Skywalker tightened his hold on the woman before him and, without rush or hesitation, covered her lips with his own in the warmest and most tender kiss he had ever given before. After their lips parted, the feeling remained strong and vital.

For the first time in her life Mara was utterly speechless. Under any other circumstances she would have demanded an explanation and would have definitely spanked the offender, but the explanation was clear even for someone like her and the spanking... well, that wasn't exactly the kind of physical touch her every cell was crying for. So all that she could do was just stand there quietly in the arms of the man she had loved for far longer than she cared to admit even to herself. Slowly, her own arms reached out and encircled him.

As he felt Mara Jade relaxing in his arms, Luke could hardly believe it. What had he been fretting about anyway? It was so simple, so within his reach. What was that old saying again - only those who don't fear falling learn to fly? That must be it, because at that moment, Luke felt like he was flying.

Later, they would never be able to tell exactly how long they stood there together.

.

TBC in the epilogue...


	5. Epilogue

.

~ Epilogue ~

.

Luke woke up the next day feeling light and at peace. This was a rare thing for him, especially considering he was not in his usual surroundings. Overall, this was a very unusual situation for him, but he knew that he would have no trouble getting used to it, as long as it included the beautiful woman who was still sleeping deeply in the crook of his arm. Craning his head a little to his right, he peeped at the chrono and was surprised to see it was past lunch time.

_'I guess my stomach woke me.'_ He thought, but decided against getting up to eat. That would involve moving Mara from her nestled position and he didn't want to do that. If it was up to him, she'd just stay there forever.

They had talked all through the night, last night. They had worked out their differences and exposed all their personal misgivings. Luke had been surprised to learn that, when Mara had agreed to attend the Academy, she had the expectation of spending more time with him, and he admitted at last that the reason he had not paid her that much attention was that he feared that his growing feeling towards her would show and then be rejected. Throughout the night, they had discovered so many parallels like this. If only they had spoken sooner so many misunderstandings would have been avoided.

Luke knew there was still much to discuss, but he truly felt that the grounds to an everlasting and happy relationship had been set.

.

~ . * . ~

.

_- Solo Residence, after the 'Big Family Dinner'..._

"That went well!" Leia exclaimed as she let herself drop on the bed right next to her husband. She had just put the kids to sleep and was exhausted but very pleased.

"Yeah," Han replied, putting his arm around her shoulders and basking in the silence.

Dinner had indeed gone well, especially if one neglected to remember the mini food fight the kids had started and that had wreaked a little havoc with the droids and Chewie. Luke had shown up a little bit late and sort of dragging an awkward Mara behind him, but the glee he emanated made it worth the wait. Leia was sure she had never seen her brother so happy. Lando had also come and brought everybody, especially the children, lots of expensive gifts. It had been especially fun when he started recounting his and Mara's adventures throughout the galaxy, many times being corrected by Mara herself. It had been a good way to get the redhead to loosen up and become more comfortable with her future family.

"So, how long do ya think it will take 'till your brother pops the question?" Han asked after a while.

"If I know Luke at all, not long. Why do you ask?" Leia glanced up at Han. "Did you start a betting pool?"

"Who, me? Of course not."

"Lando beat you to it?"

"Yes." Han admitted. "By now, all of Coruscant knows Luke and Mara are an item and are placing bets on if and when they'll get married."

"That will make things interesting for them," Leia laughed.

"Did you know Luke actually thanked me for throwing him out yesterday?"

"It's amazing. My brother is so swift on some things but we practically had to make him chase his own happiness."

"We did everything but actually talk to Jade herself."

Leia nodded her head. "He should definitely thank us. They both should."

"With what those two owe us, we'll have babysitters until the kids are old enough to get married." Han suggested.

"That's right, and it will be good practice for them." The Princess agreed.

"They'll owe us another big favor for it."

"That they will." Leia caught her husband's head and ended the conversation with a big kiss.

.

.

~The End ~


End file.
